Bristol Township filmmaker, EMT finds focus telling LGBT stories

Tuesday

Bristol Township resident Ian Liberatore splits time between jobs as an EMT and a filmmaker focusing on LGBT characters and stories.

In starting a production company “specializing in films for LGBT characters and their stories,” as it states on Ian Liberatore’s business card, he knew it would come with a certain amount of risk.

The subject matter could turn some people away right off the bat.

He could become pigeonholed as a filmmaker.

The responsibility of tackling issues that are at once deeply personal and inevitably political could prove to be too much to bear.

And while Liberatore admits he sometimes dwells on these reservations, he is confident that the decision will not only lead his career down a path toward success, but also lead to discussion that could inspire a greater understanding of gay culture.

“If I become pigeonholed then so be it,” he said. “If I’m making movies that I enjoy and that other people enjoy then that’s all that matters to me.”

Liberatore, 35, of Bristol Township, founded Moving Forward Films in July. But he began writing his first film last October.

“An American Hate Crime” premiered at The Newtown Theatre on Oct. 7 with another showing set for this Sunday.

Liberatore said the film — shot mostly over the course of six days in locations across Bucks County on a shoestring budget of about $13,000 raised through Kickstarter.com donations and from his own pockets — was well received.

“It went great,” Liberatore said Monday. “Way better than expected. It was a sold-out show and everybody seemed to love the characters and the story. People were gushing and awed and shocked.”

Speaking prior to the film's debut, Liberatore said he was excited to finally see the result of his last year of rigorous work. But he was mostly just nervous. Only he and his husband had seen the full movie before that night.

His apprehension, in part, was due to the tone of the film — which he admits is heavy.

Told in three chapters, “An American Hate Crime” first focuses on a group of college-aged men who use social media apps to lure and attack gay people, as Liberatore describes it.

The second chapter follows Noah, a 13-year-old boy coming to terms with his homosexuality.

“He has a crush in school, he comes out to his parents and because he really has no one like him to talk to, a friend convinces him to go on one of these apps,” Liberatore said.

At that point the characters intersect with violence. The third act revolves around the aftermath of their choices.

While the plot is intense and emotional, Liberatore says he doesn’t feel it’s controversial.

The assaults are not portrayed to be motivated by any political ideology and there are no religious undertones, he said.

“They are just based on pure hatred,” he added.

Branching out beyond LGBT storylines is something Liberatore aspires to do, too. When that time comes he hopes Moving Forward Films will be in a position to work with other up and coming filmmakers who have their own stories to tell that could fit with his original vision for the company.

According to Liberatore, growing up in the 80s and 90s left him searching for LGBT characters that felt real to him. Or felt how he felt inside.

“The characters you saw back then were either really flamboyant or crossdressers, which is fine, but, on a personal level, I’m gay and I’m just not like that,” he explained.

As he attempts to navigate the film industry, Liberatore is able to make ends meet — and save lives — through his side job.

For the last 11 years, the Middletown native has been working as an emergency medical technician, now splitting shifts with Warrington Community Ambulance Corps and PennDel-Middletown Emergency Squad.

The work takes its emotional toll.

“Obviously we see a lot of bad things, a lot of sad things,” Liberatore said. But some moments, though rare — like a recent visit to the hospital room of a man pulled from a serious wreck last month — make it all feel worth it.

“That kind of thing inspires me to come to work every day,” he added.

Asked what inspired him to venture into filmmaking, Liberatore had two words ready to unleash.

“Jurassic Park,” he said. “My parents took me to see it for my 10th birthday party and I ended up seeing it four times (in the theater). I bought it the first day it came out on VHS. It has everything I love about movies. I believed the characters. I believed the story and I reacted to it. And that’s what I hope to do. I love seeing people’s reactions, seeing them laugh, and I love seeing people scream. I love seeing them gasp when there’s a twist unveiled. That, to me, is the fun part of moviegoing.”

Mike DelRossi, a paramedic with Warrington, recalled the first time he met Liberatore about five years ago.

“He was a little standoffish because of his sexuality,” DelRossi said. “He’d tapdance around it to make sure people were accepting. But when he finally brought it up to me I said ‘Hey, that’s cool’ and brushed it off like it was nothing. It’s his prerogative. Whoever wants to love whoever else is fine by me.”

DelRossi says he’s come to consider Liberatore a good friend and a dedicated EMS provider.

He saw his passion as a filmmaker and for raising awareness about bullying and hate crimes. It drove him to become a financial contributor to the film, earning him an executive producer credit.

“It's upsetting to see somebody having to endure any mental or physical pain because of their sexual orientation,” DelRossi added. “That’s just not an issue we should be dealing with in today’s world.”

Tickets for Sunday’s showing of “An American Hate Crime” are available for purchase on MovingForwardFilms.com or at NewtownTheatre.com.

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